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UTC Professor Defines 6 Types of Atheism

1,132 views · Published 23 July 2013 · 2:44 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: WTVC NewsChannel 9 · 2013 · News & Politics

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University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Professor Christopher Silver and psychology student, Thomas Coleman, set out to prove that nonbelievers is no longer a sufficient term to describe people who don't believe in God.

We did a study of disbelief... meaning that while we speak in terms of people who may call themselves Atheists, or Agnostics, we study non-belief as an overall perspective, said Professor Silver. 

What they found? Six different types of Atheism based on 59 interviews conducted with people nationwide who don't believe in a higher power. 

Participants explained their views, attitude, and rituals, or lack thereof, and were put into six different categories. Silver and Coleman said many participants were embarrassed to admit their lack of belief

That theme of being a concerned someone might know, or someone might figure out that you don't believe in God, was something shared by several participants, said Coleman. 

I spoke with one Atheist who says the study is crucial for understanding alternate beliefs, and they aren't all the same. 

I think that Atheism is a lot like Christianity in that there are many different versions of it in the way people believe or don't believe, said Courtney Guevara. 

One self-proclaimed Christian is intrigued by the idea of six different legs of Atheism. 

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